China buys more VWs than Germany
David Gow
Thursday January 22, 2004
The Guardian
Volkswagen, the quintessentially German car manufacturer, sold more cars in China last year than in its home country for the first time, the group said yesterday.
Founded in the 1930s by Ferdinand Porsche and promoted by Hitler, who called the first Beetle the "strength through joy" car, VW is so important to the German economy that the state retains a fifth of shareholder voting rights.
But Europe's biggest car maker, its earnings hit by the recessionary domestic market, underlined that China is now its biggest market, with a 36% leap in sales last year to almost 700,000 VWs and Audis.
China, which reported 10% overall annual growth last year, accounted for 633,000 VW brand sales in 2003, compared with a relatively paltry 519,000 in Germany.
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